


The Untold Truth

by Aesthetic_King



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie versus Jughead, Chains, Fighting, Friends to Enemies, Hurt, Northside versus Southside, Revenge, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Strong Jughead, hunger strike, what should have happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 02:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15160541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aesthetic_King/pseuds/Aesthetic_King
Summary: What should have happened between Jughead and Archie when he was on his hunger strike.





	The Untold Truth

Jughead could deal with hunger. It wouldn’t be the first time he hadn’t eaten in days. Sometimes he just couldn’t afford it, others he had no access to Pop’s; no way to get there and he didn’t want any pity from the others as he destroyed his food in a matter of seconds. So the sharp ache in his stomach wasn’t a completely foreign feeling. However this didn’t mean it hurt any less. Other serpents were on strike as well, which only added to his determination to see this through.

Doubts did ebb into his consciousness however. Thoughts of what his friends had said to him, about the fact he was always hungry. He didn’t have the heart to tell them that he was always hungry around them because it was the only time he was offered the nourishment, at least until his dad had gotten out of jail. Things had been better than ever, even if sometimes he did forget about stocking the fridge and cabinets, all it took was one rumble from Jug’s stomach for FP to realise his kid wasn’t eating, and that he’d forgotten, again. But once more, that was becoming a rare occurrence. 

He was also thinking of consequences for the serpents. There was no way of telling what trouble they would get into for standing, chained to the school. However, he decided that they’d deal with it afterwards. When all of this was done. 

Jughead couldn’t let the Northside tear apart the Southside, even if it was the high school that was filled with drugs and gang activity but that didn’t change the fact that this building had been his new home. Full of his new family. He was getting so wrapped up in the serpents that he’d severed ties with Archie and Veronica as they were on the opposite side. Even though it pained him that his own best friend had abandoned him. However he’d always secretly known that Betty had been better friends with Archie than Jughead had ever been. So this betrayal wasn’t one he was shocked about. It had only been a matter of time. 

Speaking of time, it was around 12 at night and he was officially the only serpent still chained to the school. His dad came by, but that didn’t entice him to end his vigil, he would stand outside and chained up until they dragged him away from it. 

Jughead watched as his breath turned into white mist as it left his mouth and shrugged his jacket further on, trying to retain as much heat as he could. No matter what, it was always colder at night. Especially in the Southside. He could hear a dog howling in the distance, and there was a bag of burgers sitting next to him that he could indulge if he wanted, but he fought the temptation. He wouldn’t be broken so easily. 

People had come by to take pictures of the kids protecting their school, and posting it on social media. He was honestly surprised when the cops didn’t show up to escort them off the premises. He could only guess they had bigger fish to fry at the moment. 

Staring at the moon, he allowed himself to lay on the ground and get comfortable.The last thought on his mind that the others would be back in the morning to finish this out before he fell asleep on the cold unforgiving ground. 

 

Waking up was hard if he was being perfectly honest. The sun shining full in his face was enough to wake him up before anyone else had gotten there, and when they did he was sitting on the ground, patiently waiting for their return. 

They had nice setup, the adults chaining the kids as more and more serpents came in support, the veterans with their bikes and cars, daring any of the onlookers to start any shit. Which was highly unlikely unless any bulldogs came sniffing their way. Stone faced, Jughead watched the crowd gossip and snap photos, even Alice Cooper had shown up momentarily acquiring photos and attempting to get quotes from the kids, which wasn’t provided. 

They stood for hours in their vigil. People came and they went, but there was a constant, the serpents. None would stand alone, so all came in support.

What they didn’t expect was the arrival of Archie and his goons. With bolt cutters in their hands. 

Not easily swayed, Jughead stepped forward, trying his best to be intimidating, smirking and straightening his back so he looked down on the redhead. Archie looked determined, and as if he somewhat knew he’d regret what he was doing. 

The two stared at each other, when Jughead raised his hands, showing the chains bound around his wrists. “Go ahead, cut them.” He shoved them into the boy’s face. “I want everyone to see you do it. But that doesn’t change a thing, chains or no chains.” He drawled out, inching closer to his face with every word. “We will still stand here, and the only thing you’ll break is you and me, Arch” He spat out the nickname with distaste as he watched him cut the chains. Jughead let them fall to the ground, the sound ringing through the silence. 

Archie moved to do the same to the others, as he passed Jughead slammed his shoulder into his. Face grim, he felt the other grab him by the collar and spun him around so the two were face to face. The boy was furious, and Jughead just smiled as the boy shook him. “Jughead, it’s just chains It’s not a big deal what the fu-” Before he could finish, Jughead threw his head back before slamming it into Archie’s nose with a sickening crack. 

“No, it was so much more than that and you know it. This meant so much to me, like Pop’s and the drive-in. And you shattered it. So yeah, it is a big deal, bud.” He spat out before another football player tackled him to the ground. Rolling to the ground, he repeatedly got punched in the face, the back of his head smacking the pavement hard with each impact. Regaining his bearings, he pushed the boy off of him as he pulled his arm back and struck him across the face, and then serving a jab to his lower abdomen. He wasn’t superior in strength, but he knew what hurt. 

Chaos erupted, north versus the south, and the two boys found themselves at the center of it. This wasn’t what Jughead had wanted specifically but at least something was happening, and there was solid proof that the northsiders had been the ones to start this fight.The school needed attention, and the Serpents needed the north to realize that they weren’t the ones to blame. Only the northside and their oppression over the years was what started it.

Jughead quickly ducked out of the way of the football player that had pummeled him, only to be greeted by Archie. The two had reached a boiling point, every moment of betrayal and pain that Archie had inflicted by siding with Hiram lodge had brought them to this point. Jughead knew that Archie was his new lap dog, hell he’d even abandoned his dad which he’d sworn to protect to join this mob. 

But Jughead wasn’t going to stand by while those around him were hurt by Archie, he would make a stand and say he tried. “I can’t believe you Arch, first you side with Hiram and now this.” He paused, wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve. “And now you started a war.” Jughead pointed out, eyebrows tense as he glared down his former best friend. Archie, with anger in his eyes, pulled back his arm and hit Jughead’s cheekbone, wiping his head to the side with the sheer force of the punch. 

He’d been expecting the punch of course, no surprise there, but what he didn’t expect was his instinctual response, which was to look back at him, spit blood and smile back at the boy with bloodied teeth as he was hauled backwards by veteran serpents. Wiping his mouth, he turned back to the school, the other serpents had gotten their fill of fighting once the bulldogs were away, as well as archie.

They continued their vigil, damn Hiram.

**Author's Note:**

> May continue this as an AU for the show? I don't really know, I may do other ones with other scenes that I feel should have gone a different way? 
> 
> All I know is another one-shot full of hurt!Jughead will happen sometime, as well as protective serpents : )


End file.
